Monthly Archives: October 2016

Updated: October 27th 2016

Week 8 of the NFL season is upon us and what better way to complement yearly leagues than by playing daily leagues as well? Assuming your opponent’s team is stacked and you’re fighting a losing battle, DFS is a way to still monetize your football knowledge on a lost week in yearly leagues. However, there is a bit of a strategy difference due to the weekly salary cap. In this article, fantasy expert Ricky Sanders will walk you through the thought process of putting together the best possible FantasyDraft DFS lineup for the upcoming week:

Andrew Luck, Colts, $12,700 – The Achilles Heel of the Colts offense is their ability (or inability) to protect the QB. Andrew Luck struggles under pressure but can be lights out when he has time to throw the football. Last week, he tied a season-low in numbers of sacks he took with two. On each occasion this season in which he has been sacked exactly two times (three occasions), he has thrown for at least 331 yards. No team in the NFL has sacked the QB fewer times than Luck’s upcoming opponent this week: the Chiefs. The Chiefs dominated Ryan Fitzpatrick in an all-time terrible QB performance but have played as a rather average secondary otherwise. Expect Luck to eat them up at an unusually affordable price for a stud such as him.

Christine Michael, Seahawks, $13,700 – In poker terms, the matchup against the Saints rushing defense this year has been the “nuts” (or absolute best). The 10 rushing TDs allowed by the Saints are tied for the most in the NFL and they sit all alone in first (or last depending on how you look at it) in terms of fantasy points allowed to opposing backs. Last week, Spencer Ware only rushed for 77 yards on 17 carries (4.5 yards per carry) but he still found a way to finish in the top 10 at the position due to a 46 yard TD reception (REC). While Michael contributes sporadically to the passing game (at least two RECs in every game this season, he is involved heavily in the rushing attack every week (at least 16 carries in every game since Week 3). While his efficiency has been down the last three games (has not eclipsed 3.6 yards per carry), he still produced 20-plus fantasy points in two of those games due to scores. Against a team that has allowed the most scores (12 total) to opposing backs, he should be able to find the end zone once again. Hell, he has scored five TDs in the last four games so it is not exactly a rare occurrence.

Spencer Ware, Chiefs, $12,700 – Could the schedule be any friendlier for Spencer Ware these days? Sheesh. Ware will go from facing the aforementioned Saints to facing a Colts defense that has been lit up by every back that has faced them. Theo Riddick, C.J. Anderson, Melvin Gordon, T.J. Yeldon (season-high yards per carry), Jordan Howard, Lamar Miller and DeMarco Murray all went nuts against this defense so it is not surprising that the Colts rank dead last in rushing defense in terms of Football Outsiders’ defense-adjusted value over average (DVOA) statistic. If playing the Saints is option 1A then the Colts are 1B and Ware is flirting with finishing as a top five back in this offense. Jamaal Charles should no longer be a concern as he is nothing more than a change of pace back. Ware contributes both on the ground and in the air which is notable because the Colts have allowed the fourth most receiving yards and most receiving TDs to opposing backs. As noted in the Michael tidbit, Ware scored a 40-plus yard receiving TD last week so he is a threat to score in multiple ways this weekend. Fading him would simply be a mistake.

Jacquizz Rodgers, Buccaneers, $10,900 – Speaking of workhorses, Jacquizz Rodgers has carried the ball a ridiculous 56 times over the course of the past two weeks alone. The gigantic workload has led to 255 yards rushing in the past two contests which is amazing because he had accumulated just 252 in his previous 19 games. The team is relying on him as the bell cow in the absence of both Doug Martin and Charles Sims and he has come through to the tune of 4.55 YPC over the past two games. For the season, the Raiders have allowed the ninth most fantasy points to opposing RBs but the third most rushing yards. Clearly, gaining yardage has not been a struggle for Rodgers lately especially considering he gained 100 yards rushing in the first half alone last week. The offensive line, specifically the right half, is playing great right now and Rodgers is flourishing in an expanded role. Usually backs seeing this sort of volume are priced around $14,000 so take Rodgers at the sizeable discount.

Ty Montgomery, Packers, $10,500 – Is Ty Montgomery a RB or WR? Well, Aaron Rodgers was quoted as saying this week as saying “Ty is a RB now” after Montgomery played 46 snaps in the backfield in Week 7. This was the second consecutive week he was forced to play RB and it led to 10-plus RECs in back-to-back games. The Packers have virtually no choice but to continue using Montgomery in the backfield considering the recently acquired Knile Davis is the only other healthy back. Although the Packers have virtually replaced their running game with the short passing game, Montgomery still averaged 6.7 yards per carry (YPC) last week. He is both a RB2 and borderline PPR WR1 in his new role and yet he is priced like a WR3. For that kind of value, there is no reason to avoid using Rodgers’ new found security blanket.

C.J. Fiedorowicz, Texans, $5,600 – Okay so the Texans offense was just brutal on Monday Night but there was a silver lining: C.J. Fiedorowicz played a season-high 74-percent of the team’s offensive snaps. Prior to Monday Night against a tough Broncos defense, Fiedorowicz had finished as TE8 between Weeks 6 and 7 combined and he had been averaging 64 yards receiving over the past three weeks (Weeks 5-7). All of this is a long-winded way of seeing he is a youngster on the rise and he draws a dream matchup against a Lions defense that has allowed 19 TDs to TEs in their last 23 games. Furthermore, they have allowed the most TDs to the position (seven) and the third most fantasy points. Vernon Davis finished as a top four TE in Week 6 without scoring and he actually dropped a TD. Coincidentally, he was priced at this exact same price. If punting the position, Fiedorowicz actually possesses more upside than his name value alone might suggest.

Ricky Sanders is a fantasy sports expert with over 15 years of playing experience. After starting several freelance fantasy sports blogs, Ricky moved up in the fantasy industry when he joined Going9 Baseball. He wrote fantasy baseball content and had a weekly radio spot on the site’s SiriusXM Satellite Radio show. Shortly thereafter, in early 2013, Ricky joined RotoExperts as a three-sport fantasy contributor, eventually becoming one of the site’s lead basketball writers. While writing for RotoExperts, Ricky was introduced to daily fantasy sports and immediately fell in love. With help from some of his mentors, some of the best DFS players in the world, he honed his skills and became the daily fantasy expert he is today. When RotoExperts created a daily-focused website called DailyRoto.com, Ricky was brought on to FantasyDraft as one of the main contributors. He still makes frequent appearances on the RotoExperts SiriusXM Radio show and on the FNTSY Sports Television Network, talking daily fantasy sports. He also continues to write for a few DFS content sites: FanVice, RotoCurve and Daily Fantasy Cafe. Ricky is a proud and active member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association. Don’t hesitate to contact Ricky with questions on Twitter @RSandersDFS.

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Updated: October 27th 2016

Week 7 Results

1T.English– 10-4-1

1T.Wendell– 10-4-1

3.Papson – 9-5-1

Overall Standings

1.Papson – 70-36-1

2.English– 60-46-1

3.Wendell – 59-47-1

Finally, the mighty has fallen…barely. Kyle and I were able to inch out Papson this week going a very respectable 10-4-1 (gosh what a weird game the Seahawks/Cards was). Papson has a commanding 10 game lead still over Kyle, but we will certainly not give up as we attempt to slowly but surely chip away. The Titans and Jags get things underway tonight with a classic AFC South pillow fight. Here are our Week 8 picks:

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Updated: October 27th 2016

Week 7 of the NFL season is upon us and what better way to complement yearly leagues than by playing daily leagues as well? Assuming your opponent’s team is stacked and you’re fighting a losing battle, DFS is a way to still monetize your football knowledge on a lost week in yearly leagues. However, there is a bit of a strategy difference due to the weekly salary cap. In this article, fantasy expert Ricky Sanders will walk you through the thought process of putting together the best possible FantasyDraft DFS lineup for the upcoming week:

Joe Flacco, Ravens, $10,900 – At an incredibly affordable $10,900 price tag, Joe Flacco stands out as a superior play at the QB position due to the matchup against the Jets. While Carson Palmer failed to reach 13 fantasy points against this defense on Monday Night, it was mostly due to the success of David Johnson. After Ezekiel Elliott gashed the Packers on Sunday, the Jets headed into Monday night in a two-way tie for the fewest yards per carry (YPC) allowed of any defense. Obviously Johnson changed things slightly but the point is they are tough on most non-elite running games. Additionally, Flacco has attempted 40-plus passes in every game since Week 1 so the volume has been there. Now, if the run game is going to be shut down by the Jets, Flacco will have plenty of opportunity to burn a Jets secondary that has allowed the sixth most fantasy points to opposing QBs.

DeMarco Murray, Titans, $13,700 – Targeting the Colts’ rushing defense (or lack thereof) is becoming an ongoing theme in daily fantasy football. In Week 6, this “defense” woke up the sleeping giant that is Lamar Miller who had failed to reach 19 fantasy points in every game prior to this matchup. What did he do against the Colts? He rushed for a whopping 149 yards on 24 carries (6.2 YPC), scored a rushing TD and even caught three passes for 29 yards and scored a receiving TD as well. When all said and done, Miller dropped 35.80 fantasy points against a defense that now has allowed the second most fantasy points to the position. Most notably, the Colts have already allowed 33 RECs, 346 receiving yards and a league-worst four receiving TDs to the RB position. To this point, only Giovani Bernard and Theo Riddick have caught more passes amongst RBs than Murray (24). As if that were not enough, Murray has even received 34.8-percent of his team’s red zone targets. There is just so much potential upside here combined with a safe floor so there really is no reason to fade Murray especially in cash games.

Spencer Ware, Chiefs, $11,000 – The return of Jamaal Charles hardly affected Spencer Ware’s workload in Week 4 but most expected Coach Andy Reid to ramp up his participation in offense coming off the Week 5 bye…but nope. Charles played just five more snaps (15) than in Week 4 although he did touch the ball 11 times. Reports surfaced mid-week suggesting Charles still is not confident in his surgically repaired knee which explains the slow progression of his role expansion in the offense. Part of it though is the fact Ware has been awfully productive as the team’s workhorse and they have no motivation to make a switch. Last week, Ware rushed 24 times for 131 yards and a TD (5.5 YPC) which marked the fourth time in five games he managed 5.5 YPC or more. The matchup literally could not get any better in Week 7 as the Saints have allowed the most fantasy points to opposing backs including 10 rushing TDs. Even if Charles does see an uptick in usage, there should be enough production in a conservative Coach Reid offense for both to succeed (similarly to Tevin Coleman and Devonta Freeman just three weeks ago against this very defense). Do not fear the committee and start Ware with confidence.

A.J. Green, Bengals, $16,200 – One of the most underrated pieces of news that emerged last week was Joe Haden injuring his groin in practice last week because he is now listed as “week-to-week.” In other words, Haden will miss this weekend’s tilt against the Bengals which leaves A.J. Green free to roam wild. For what it’s worth, Green torched the Haden-less Browns in his last meeting against them last year for 128 yards and a TD on only six targets. One can only assume six targets is his absolute floor against a defense that has already allowed eight receiving TDs to opposing WRs (tied for fifth most of any team). Green is priced cheaper than the likes of Antonio Brown and Julio Jones but his upside is as high as anyone’s on the entire slate.

Allen Robinson, Jaguars, $13,700 – Week 7 is the make-or-break week for Allen Robinson’s fantasy value. The guy has been seeing all the targets he could possibly hope for (averaging 9.4 per game) but he has yet to eclipse 72 yards receiving in any game. Even so, he had scored three TDs in two games heading into Week 6 and he dropped a TD against the Bears. Basically, he was hanging onto a football away from four TDs in three weeks and all would be fine and dandy. With all of that being said, he needs to get it done this week against a Raiders team that has allowed the second most fantasy points to opposing WRs this season. For Robinson’s sake, the most attractive aspect of the matchup is the fact the Raiders have surrendered the most receiving yards to the position this season. If Robinson were ever going to bust out for a 100-plus yard week capped off by a TD, this would be the week. Despite his struggles, he is one of the safest bets at the position in this top tier matchup.

Jack Doyle, Colts, $5,000 – Whenever a player is listed at absolute minimum price and possesses some form of upside, they are absolutely worthy of consideration. The injury to Dwayne Allen has opened up a world of upside for him because now all the TE targets on the team should flow through Doyle. That exact role paid off last week as Doyle caught all four of his targets for 53 yards and a TD en route to 15.30 fantasy points. During Coby Fleener’s tenure with the Colts, he averaged 16.10 fantasy points per game with Allen out. At just 7.5 fantasy points, Doyle would put a fantasy team on pace for 150 points. If he comes anywhere close to last week’s production then he would put a team on pace for a whopping 300 fantasy points and would compete for the lead in terms of fantasy-points-per-dollar at the position. With a plethora of options to spend up for at other positions, spending down for Doyle makes a ton of sense.

Ricky Sanders is a fantasy sports expert with over 15 years of playing experience. After starting several freelance fantasy sports blogs, Ricky moved up in the fantasy industry when he joined Going9 Baseball. He wrote fantasy baseball content and had a weekly radio spot on the site’s SiriusXM Satellite Radio show. Shortly thereafter, in early 2013, Ricky joined RotoExperts as a three-sport fantasy contributor, eventually becoming one of the site’s lead basketball writers. While writing for RotoExperts, Ricky was introduced to daily fantasy sports and immediately fell in love. With help from some of his mentors, some of the best DFS players in the world, he honed his skills and became the daily fantasy expert he is today. When RotoExperts created a daily-focused website called DailyRoto.com, Ricky was brought on to FantasyDraft as one of the main contributors. He still makes frequent appearances on the RotoExperts SiriusXM Radio show and on the FNTSY Sports Television Network, talking daily fantasy sports. He also continues to write for a few DFS content sites: FanVice, RotoCurve and Daily Fantasy Cafe. Ricky is a proud and active member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association. Don’t hesitate to contact Ricky with questions on Twitter @RSandersDFS.

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Updated: October 20th 2016

Week 6 Results

1T.Papson – 8-7

1T.Wendell– 8-7

3.English – 6-9

Overall Standings

1.Papson – 61-31

2.English– 50-42

3.Wendell – 49-43

Papson loses not ground to the field with an 8-7 week, but Stephen does pick up some ground on Kyle after going 8-7 along with Matt to Kyle’s 6-9. Papson extends his lead over Kyle to a whopping 11 games as well as keeping his 12 game lead over me through six weeks. Here are our Week 7 picks:

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Updated: October 17th 2016

The uniqueness of Reality Sports Online lends to EPIC TRADES that you won’t see on any other platform! Each week, we’ll highlight an EPIC TRADE or TRADES submitted by one of our RSO GMs! Want your trade to be featured? Email your trade to Inquiries@RealitySportsOnline. Please include full contract details so our Dave Sanders can provide his insight on the trade. Additionally, we’ll create a Twitter Poll so you can get feedback from fellow RSO GMs.

ANALYSIS: This trade appears to clearly be a match between a team buying and a team selling. If I was trading away Jeffery on a 1 year deal, I would want a player signed through 2018 or a 1st round pick. McKinnon fits that criteria and has impressed since replacing Adrian Peterson as the number one back in Minnesota. I don’t expect Peterson to return to Minnesota next year and would pencil McKinnon in as a RB2 for 2017 and 2018. Tyrell Williams and Victor Cruz could possibly be flipped in a trade later this season as well. From the contender’s point of view, I like this trade as well. Assuming he can stay healthy, which is never a given for Jeffery, Alshon should see a bump in targets with Kevin White lost for the season and become a weekly low-end WR1. Enumwa also should contribute as a WR4 with upside.

ANALYSIS: This is your classic buyer meets seller trade. With their seasons heading in opposite directions, Team B decided it was time to move his most valuable one-year contracts. Team A gave up a 2017 1st round pick (which will be signed to a 4 year deal) and Michael Thomas, who’s signed through 2019 to greatly boost their 2016 team. Adding a top 5 QB, top 15 RB, top 10 WR, and top 3 TE will do that. If Team A wasn’t already the favorite, this trade may have cemented that as it certainly placed a bullseye squarely on this team’s 2016 performance.

ANALYSIS: Without the contract info, I’ll have to make some assumptions. First, you can’t go wrong acquiring AJ Green, almost no matter the price. Reestablishing himself as a true WR1 this season, Green can be a true difference maker each and every week. For side A, Josh Doctson is the most interesting piece. It’s fairly safe to assume that he’s on a rookie deal in this league. After making very little impact so far this season, his #RSOfantasy value has likely dropped in many leagues. I’m still a believer long-term and think he could make a sizable impact in 2017 if DeSean Jackson and/or Pierre Garcon do not return. Now’s a great time to target him if you’re selling as he might be able to be had for an early 2nd round pick.

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Updated: October 17th 2016

The NFL blasts into week 6 of the 2016 season. Now is the time of year I like to look at my team and decide if I am a probable contender. There is enough data (including records, point totals, and injuries) available through five weeks for most fantasy owners to make a fairly reasonable estimate of whether their team has a decent chance at the playoffs this year.

Contending fantasy teams should consider adding players to fix deficiencies in the next couple of weeks. There is a small window where certain owners will not feel confident about which direction their team is heading and thus be hesitant to make deals improving their team. The savvy owner can attack players on teams out of contention now before competition between contending teams drives the prices of players up later in the season. This early trading strategy comes at the risk of moving future assets on a team that may fail due to injuries, performance, or many other factors but I find the risk is worth increasing my odds at a high finish.

But what players should you be targeting? I will give you a list of players below who might be valued less than their production dictates by their current owners based on a variety of factors.

Older Veterans

Fantasy players display an inherent bias against older players. The smart RSO owner can use this bias against other teams by buying these veterans at discount prices. Owners also place aging players on short-term contracts at a greater rate which makes owners more willing to move them. This is a great place to start when filling holes in your lineup.

Most fantasy leagues do not value the quarterback position highly given positional requirements and the abundant supply of startable quarterbacks in most leagues. Tom Brady and Drew Brees give consistently high volume and upside that is virtually unmatched. Their advanced age has not affected performance so far and each player’s skills look unlikely to significantly diminish this season. Brandon Marshall and Michael Crabtree currently reside in the top 15 of targets for wide receivers in situations unlikely to change much. Each plays for teams in the top-6 of passing attempts and receive a large percentage of targets. The Jets recently lost Eric Decker for the season which solidifies Marshall’s role further. DeMarco Murray leads running backs in fantasy points for PPR leagues, while producing a nice weekly floor with nearly 5 receptions per game, and even has a solid schedule the rest of season. Greg Olsen is currently top-5 in targets and yards in the NFL, while easily leading the league among tight ends. He is one of the very few consistent difference makers at an ugly fantasy position.

Injury Returns

Another excellent buying opportunity presents itself in injured players with the chance to return. There is more risk with this group as injury timeframes and performance of players returning from injury carries a lot of variance. That risk comes with decreased costs and large upside though.

Jamal Charles should return to almost 100% this week. He provides excellent value on concerns about workload split with Spencer Ware, a favorable schedule, and Kansas City has already had its bye-week. He could be a true bargain if he resumes duties close to a workhorse role. Preseason darling, Donte Moncrief, returns in a few weeks to the pass happy Indianapolis Colts offense. He will resume WR2 duties for the Andrew Luck led Colts and has the chance to provide WR3+ value down the stretch. Sammy Watkins could return from injured reserve as early as week 12. He is a huge gamble as he might not play this year but showed league winning upside late last season and Buffalo has a fantastic schedule for the fantasy playoffs. Cincinnati Bengal Tyler Eifert is also slated to return in the next few weeks. The athletic tight end scored 13 touchdowns in just 13 games last season and is a complete mismatch for most defenders. He provides huge weekly upside at the position.

Bad Touchdown Luck

The random nature of touchdown scoring conspires against fantasy owners constantly. Many quality options appear less than what they are due to unfavorable luck in the TD department. Take advantage of owners who give up on players because of this misfortune and laugh all the way to payday as the touchdowns normalize over the course of a season.

Andy Dalton ranks in the upper tiers of completion percentage and yards per attempt but is near the bottom of starting QBs in touchdowns. Look for a substantial increase in touchdown rate for the remainder of the season with the aforementioned touchdown machine Tyler Eifert set to return soon. He is a nice cheap option for quarterback needy teams with QB1 upside for the remainder of the year. Lamar Miller sees an upper-class touch load weekly and is 10th in rushing yards but is the only running back in the top twenty of attempts that has not scored. Miller’s volume should remain large on a team that has been in the top five of rushing attempts over the last two seasons and has one of the worst quarterbacks so far in Brock Osweiler. This large workload should result in substantial scoring opportunities. You might not have another opportunity to acquire Odell Beckham Jr. and Amari Cooper soon. Both young star receivers scored their first touchdowns of 2016 in week 5 while maintaining big WR1 roles on pass heavy teams. Neither will come cheap but the lack of scores might convince some skeptical owners to sell where each was virtually unattainable in the offseason.

Bio: Bernard Faller has degrees in engineering and economics. He currently lives in Las Vegas and enjoys athletics, poker, and fantasy football in his free time. Send your questions and comments (both good and bad) on Twitter @BernardFaller1.